Bag for storing soiled laundry or waste



Feb. 20, 1968 F. FACCIO ETAL 3,369,584

BAG FOR STORING SOILED LAUNDRY OR WASTE Filed May 26, 1967 2Sheets-Sheet l I N VEN TORS FR A/VK FA CC /0 DA V/D C 0N5 TAN T/NE BY MW Arrow/5r:

Feb. 20; 1968 F. FACCIO ETAL 3,359,584

BAG FOR STORING SOILED LAUNDRY OR WASTE Filed May 26, 1967 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 6

(PRIOR ART) INVENTORS FRANK FACC/o DAV/0 CONSTANT/NE A? role NEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,369,584 BAG FOR STORING SOILED LAUNDRY OR WASTE FrankFaccio, 1009 Cleveland St., Uniondale, N.Y. 11553, and DavidConstantine, Concord House, Scarsdale, N.Y. 10583 Filed May 26, 1967,Ser. No. 641,688 4 Claims. (Cl. 150-3) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bagsuch as a laundry or hamper bag for collecting soiled and particularlycontaminated laundry or waste which can be tightly closed withoutnecessitating direct physical or even close contact with the contents ofthe bag by turning up an outer cover of the bag from a lower positionexposing the filling end of the bag to an upper position protrudingabove the filling end and then closing the ends of the outer cover,thereby forming a completely closed envelope.

SPECIFICATION The present invention relates to bags for collectingsoiled laundry or waste as are used for collecting and removing soiledlaundry or waste, and particularly to socalled hamper bags.

Handling of soiled laundry or sanitary waste is never a very pleasanttask but, in addition, it may also become a serious health hazard whenthe laundry or waste is contaminated as is frequently the case inhospitals and similar institutions.

Bags of the kind above referred to as they are now in general use inhospitals and other institutions where soiled laundry and sanitary wastematerial accumulate in large quantities and must be more or lessregularly collected for removal, make it practically unavoidable for theperson charged with closing the filled bags to come in undesirable andeven dangerous close contact with the contents thereof.

It is a broad object of the invention to provide a novel and improvedbag of the general kind above referred to which can be safely andconveniently closed without making it necessary for the personefiiecting closing of the bag to come into close contact with thecontents thereof.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel andimproved bag of the general kind above referred to which can be filledin a conventional manner and may also be suspended in open conditionfrom a conventional stand or frame while the bag is being graduallyfilled, and which can be tightly closed, after removal from the frame orstand, by folding an outer cover of the bag over the open filling endthereof and then securing or sealin the edges of the turned over coverto each other so that the bag is fully closed when ready for removal.

The afore-pointed out features and advantages and other objects,features and advantages which will be pointed out hereinafter areobtained by providing an outer cover loosely encompassing substantiallythe lower half of the bag proper. The outer cover is secured along itsupper rim to the bag and open at the other end but is releasablyclosable at said other end. To close the filled bag, the outer cover isturned up so that the edges of the cover which were initially below thebottom of the bag proper are now above the filling end thereof. The nowupper ends of the cover are peripherally secured. The filling opening ofthe bag may be more or less closed but it may also be open. Theturned-up and closed outer cover now constitutes an envelope envelopingthe filling end of the bag and this envelope can be formed and closedwithout re quiring the person manipulating the cover to come in closecontact with the contents of the bag.

In the accompanying drawing a preferred embodiment of the invention isshown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a hamper bag according to theinvention, ready to be filled;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the bag suspended in a stand or frame;

FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of the bag showing the sealing means forthe outer cover of the bag on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing an intermediate stage of theclosing of the bag proper by turning up the outer cover; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, but showing the bag with the outercover fully turned up and partly closed.

Referring now to the figures more in detail, the exemplified laundry bagcomprises an inner bag 10 closed at its lower generally rounded end 10aand open at its opposite end to be filled with laundry, waste or othermaterial to be collected in the bag. The filling end of the bag may beclosed by pulling tight drawstrings 11 which are arranged in aconventional manner by being guided in a turned-over hem formed alongthe respective rim of the bag. The bag is made of a materialconventionally used for such bags, such as duck or canvas.

An outer cover 12 also made of pliable material such as duck, is securedfor instance, by stitching along its rim 13 to bag 10. The outer coveris preferably attached to bag 10 about midway of the length of the bag.The length of outer cover 12 is such that if it hangs downwardly fromits rim 13, the lower edge of the cover is somewhat below the level ofthe bottom 10a of the bag as is clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and thatif the cover is turned upwardly in reference to edge 13 the free edge ofthe cover is well above the filling end of bag 10 as is shown in FIG. 8.

Fastening means 15 are provided at the free edge of cover 12 for closingthe cover along the entire length of its free edge and also reopeningthe cover. Various conventional and suitable types of fasteners may beused. Fasteners such as known under the trademark Velcro have been foundto be particularly advantageous for the purpose. Velcro fastenersutilize a random engagement of a multitude of hooks and loops. Uponseparation by pull, the loops stretch while the hooks yield by bending.

A strip 15a of Velcro material is secured along the entire peripherallength of the respective edge of cover 12, for instance by stitching.The strip may be either on the inside or the outside of the cover whenthe same is hanging down as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Attachment of theVehro strip or other fasteners to the outside of the cover somewhatfacilitates the closing of the cover when the same is to be closed overthe filling opening of bag 10 as will be more fully explainedhereinafter.

The bag according to the invention may be conveniently suspended in orsupported by a stand or frame 20 of conventional design. The standitself and the mounting of the bag thereon do not constitute any part ofthe invention and should be visualized to be conventional. It should beonly noted that the filling end of the bag is usually pulled over theupper rim of the stand as is indicated at 1% and the drawstrings 11 arethen sufficiently tightened to hold the bag as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The laundry or hamper bag according to the invention is operated asfollows:

Let it be assumed that the bag is placed upon the stand as is shown inFIGS. 2 and 3. The lower edges of cover 12 may be secured to each otherby turning inwardly the bottom end of the cover with the Velcro stripthereon if the strip is on the outside of the depending cover. FIG. 4shows the edges of the cover turned over and sealed to each other,However, the lower edge of the cover may also be left open in itsdepending position.

The bag may now be filled in a conventional manner. After beingsufliciently filled, thebag is detached from the stand by loosing thedrawstrings then may be tightened to close the bag at least partly. Thelower end of cover 12 is now opened if it was closed before and theentire cover is turned up so that its initially lower rim is now abovethe level of the more or less closed filled opening of bag 10.

FIG. 7 shows cover 12 being partly turned upwardly and FIG. 8 shows thecover fully pulled up.

Finally, the cover is closed by simply pressing it together along Velcrostrip 15a. As is evident, if other fasteners are used, closing iseffected in a corresponding manner. The filled bag is now ready forremoval. As is evident, the contents are fully sealed off so that thereis no danger to personnel closing the bag and handling the same duringtransport.

To empty the bag, cover 12 is reopened and returned from the position ofFIG. 8 to the position of FIG. 1. The contents of the bag may now bedumped out and the bag is again ready for use, after cleaning the same.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to acertain now preferred example and embodiment of the invention, it willbe understood by those skilled in the art, after understanding theinvention, that various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it isintended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bag for collecting soiled laundry and waste, said bag comprising,in combination:

a pliable bag fixedly closed. on one end and open on the other end forloading the bag;

a pliable outer cover encompassing the bag, one end of said cover beingopen and the other end being attached to the outside of the bagintermediate, the open end and the closed end thereof, the length ofsaid cover being greater than the distance between the line ofattachment of the cover and the open end thereof; and

releasable fastening means secured along the free edge of the cover toreleasably close said free edge of the cover along its entire peripherallength;

whereby said cover constitutes a closed envelope completely envelopingthe open end of the bag when the cover is turned upwardly about its lineof attachment and is closed along its free edge by said fastening means.

2. A bag according to claim 1, wherein said cover comprises a generallytubular member made of pliable sheet material, said member beingattached along one of its edges to the outside of the bag but beingotherwise free to permit folding of the tubular member about itsattached edge for placement of the free length of the member selectivelyin a position encompasing the closed bag end or the open bag end.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 665,942 1/1901 Tabler c -31,526,816 2/1925 Widmer 229 -53 X 2,323,318 7/1943 Farkas 15011 X DAVIDM. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner,

